The whole natural food movement has strong roots in religious circles, not only with Kosher food and Mennonite dairies, and natural foods and the Jesus movement of the 70s, but in a new generation of foods and consumer products made on Biblical principles and sold with a religious theme. OneMORE HERE
CINCINNATI – Two well known regional brands are re-finding their place in the pantheon of Ohio business history. Christian Moerlein Brewery and Rookwood Pottery are profiled in a recent issue of the Cincinnati Business Courier. U.S. Bank’s Business Watch profiled the two companies in a TV report, seen above. TheyMORE HERE
NEW YORK – While private equity continues its long-running obsession with the high-tech sector—pumping cash into start-ups with zero history and names like Jive, Aerohive and Hadoop—one category has been woefully neglected and fully ripe for profit making today: a low-tech sector with more familiar monikers like Hai Karate, Modess,MORE HERE
LE SUEUR, Minnesota – There are few canned vegetable brands that command a premium, but Le Sueur “very young small sweet peas” are one of them. Charging a premium for a straight basic commodity is a challenge. To make a premium brand out of a commodity, you need years ofMORE HERE
WEST CHICAGO – One of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep children happy in the summer is the frozen ice bar, and the two top brands are Fla-Vor-Ice and Otter Pops. The question is which is preferable, and why. Both brands are made by the Chicago company Jel-Sert, andMORE HERE
When most of the major brands in an industry go to one owner, it should be of major worry to any industry. When brands are owned in the U.S., it is an oligarchy. When owned outside of the U.S., it becomes a cartel. Part of the discussion of the legalityMORE HERE
JAMAICA, QUEENS, N.Y. – The historic Pan American WorldPort is not down yet, and the group fighting to save the iconic structure from Delta’s destruction has upped the ante in its come-from-behind campaign to save the building, the interior of which is pictured here (Photo from Josh Stoff, curator ofMORE HERE
ATLANTA – Before there was Vera Bradley, before Vera Wang, there was plain old Vera, which has reappeared as a short-term promotion for Target. Not only is the reappearance a good thing for a great classic brand, but it is proof that any number of similarly named products can existMORE HERE
LONDON – Barclays plc has rolled out a new, revamped Barclaycard Arrival card for the U.S. market. The card promises that you can earn all sorts of travel perks for signing up for their plastic. Just last week, they even had booths in major airports like Tampa. But the cardMORE HERE
The social theorist and urban planner Andres Duany a few years ago gave a talk on “male” space in the American household. Male space has pretty much disappeared; the den, once male, became a family room, and then became housebroken. Homeowners associations will fine you for leaving the garage doorMORE HERE